Light utility van and large station wagon type vehicles have become increasingly popular in recent years, due to their relatively efficient use of space. Many commercial concerns have found such vehicles useful, as have increasing numbers of people for various purposes, such as camping, car pool purposes, the carriage of garden tools or other equipment, etc.
A problem with such vehicles is the carriage of a spare wheel and tire. In many instances it is impractical to carry such a large, bulky object inside the vehicle due to its inaccessibility when other large objects are carried, or the necessity of keeping the interior clean when equipped as a camper or passenger vehicle. For these reasons, as well as others, the mounting of the spare wheel and tire on the exterior of the vehicle has become popular.
Due to limitations of width and height, as well as engine cooling and ccess, the most practical area to mount such a spare wheel and tire is on one of the rear doors of the vehicle. However, due to the bulk of the tire it is generally not possible to completely open that door. In fact, typically the door on which the spare wheel and tire are mounted is incapable of opening more than some 30 degrees, beyond which the projecting diameter and width of the tire beyond the hinge line of the door interferes with the body of the vehicle. Such a small arc of travel effectively limits the total width of the opening to little more than the width of a single door, even though both doors may be open, making it impossible to horizontally insert or remove wide, bulky objects such as standard width sheets of plywood, drywall, mattresses, etc. without first removing the spare wheel and tire from its mount. The present invention offers a convenient, simple method of temporarily moving the spare wheel and tire to allow the door upon which it is mounted to be opened fully, without the necessity of initially removing the wheel and tire from its mounting structure.